


'Tis the Season

by skillzyo



Series: Holiday Fic Round Up [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Brief moments of Brittana, Brief moments of Finchel, F/F, Mack Tries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 21:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5717995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skillzyo/pseuds/skillzyo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Mack picks up her girlfriend from the airport. It has been a long three months since Quinn left for Yale, and all Mack wants is to spend time with her. But she’s a little distracted by the third wheel she agreed to take home, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'Tis the Season

Sometimes Quinn thinks she’s dating a somewhat mature and occasionally sweet girl. Most of the time—times like now—she’s sure she’s dating a girl with the mentality of an obnoxious thirteen year old boy. Mack blows into a noise maker and Quinn cringes at the duck call that echoes through the parking garage.

“I may have to kill whoever bought you that,” she says through her teeth.

Mack grins and says, “You’ll have to kill your best friends then, and I doubt you want to commit homie-cide so close to Christmas.” She leans closer to Quinn and whispers, “Sneaking into jail for quickies is tough this time of year.”

“I really hope you’re not speaking from past experiences,” Quinn says as they approach Mack’s car. Mack winks before she opens the trunk. Quinn rolls her eyes and places her suitcase in the back. After she shuts the trunk, she leans against the car and says, “Thanks for coming to pick me up, by the way.”

Mack steps in front of Quinn and leans against her, a small smile on her face as she says, “Anything for my favorite girl, ya know?”

She presses her lips against Quinn’s, reveling in the contact she has been missing in the months that Quinn has been at Yale. Their Skype calls had been nice, but they hadn’t made up for the lack of Quinn’s physical presence. Mack breaks the kiss, but stays close to Quinn. Her girlfriend smiles at her and she realizes how much she has missed seeing that smile up close. Footsteps interrupt the moment and both girls look towards the sound, where they find Rachel pulling her luggage on a baggage cart. Mack tries not to scowl, but judging from the way Quinn clears her throat, she must have failed.

“You promised,” Quinn whispers as Rachel approaches them. Mack sighs, but she opens the trunk again and lets Rachel put her luggage in with Quinn’s.

“Thank you again, Mack—”

“The Mack.”

Quinn smacks her on the arm. “She means you’re welcome,” she says, turning her attention to the small brunette in the bright red coat and green scarf.

They had decided to fly home for the holidays together so neither one would have to spend the flight next to a stranger. She had been counting on Finn to come pick her up after the flight, but car trouble had come up at the last minute. It had taken some convincing from Quinn, but Mack eventually came around and told her she could drive Rachel home, too.

“Not what I meant at all,” Mack says under her breath before pushing off the back of the car. As she walks by Rachel, she blows in the noise maker so another duck call comes out. Rachel startles and smacks the back of her head on the corner of the trunk. Mack chuckles when she hears her yelp, but her amusement is cut short when Quinn starts fussing over Rachel. That had definitely backfired.

She opens the passenger door and wipes the Dorito crumbs off the seat so they fall on the floor. She wishes she could say the mess was from her brother Jimmy, but she had been smoking a couple of days before, trying to kill time until Quinn came home, and had gotten a case of the munchies. Once the crumbs are on the floor and the seat is adjusted to Quinn’s liking, Mack goes back to the two girls loading luggage into her trunk.

“Didn’t think you were moving back home, Berry,” she says as she watches her load the last of her bags.

“You can never be too prepared,” Rachel says with a grin. “Besides, some of it is Christmas stuff.”

“Aren’t you Jewish?”

“Drop it, Mack. They’re gifts for friends,” Quinn says before she slams the trunk shut. “Now can we get out of here? It’s freezing.”

She doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she opens the back door for Rachel before getting into the front passenger seat. Mack mutters under her breath as she opens the driver side door and gets in. She’s tempted to start backing up before Rachel can get in, but there’s the risk that she’d hit another car with the open door. And Quinn would get mad at her. So she waits for Rachel to get in and shut the door before she even starts the car.

The three occupants of the vehicle are silent as it pulls out of the parking garage onto the snowy streets of Dayton. Quinn blasts the heat before she tries to rub some warmth into her arms. Mack lets her right hand drop from the steering wheel so it rests on the armrest between her and Quinn. Once the heat fills the car, Quinn slips her hand into Mack’s, an action she has missed over the last few months.

She was supposed to come home for Thanksgiving break, but an unexpected snowstorm had canceled her flight. She had received a refund for the ticket, but that didn’t make up for the time away from her family or the lost opportunity to spend time with her girlfriend.

She looks at the girl beside her and smiles. It’s been so long since she’s been able to see her girlfriend’s face in person rather than on a computer screen. She removes her hand from Mack’s and reaches over to stroke her cheek with the back of her hand, just because she can. Mack doesn’t look over, but Quinn can see a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Then Rachel asks if they can put on Christmas music and the quiet moment is ruined.

“Your wish is my command,” Mack says before she opens the hidden compartment in the armrest and pulls out her iPod. “I actually made a playlist just for you.”

“Wow. That was actually rather thoughtful of you.”

“Thoughtful is my middle name,” Mack says with a snicker before hitting play.

Christmas music does blast out of the speakers, but there aren’t any words. Instead, it’s all duck sounds set to the tune of Christmas songs. Quinn groans and quickly turns off the quacking rendition of Jingle Bells. She switches to the radio. So close to the holiday, all of the stations are playing Christmas music.

“I worked hard on that,” Mack says with a pout.

“I’m sure.”

—-

Mack is on her best behavior for the rest of the drive. She’s not an idiot. She knows when Quinn is about to reach her limit, and she doesn’t plan on pissing off her girlfriend the first night she’s home; especially not when she has plans to make Quinn’s first night back home special. She keeps her mouth shut while Quinn and Rachel talk, knowing if she says anything, it will end up being something rude.

By the time they cross into Lima, the light snow has turned into a storm and the car has to creep along the streets at a crawl so Mack can see. It takes far too long to reach the driveway of the Hudson household. When they finally pull up to it, Mack sighs in relief. She could only handle so much of Berry’s voice.

“Thanks again for the ride,” Rachel says as Mack puts the car in park. She opens the back door and gets one foot outside when she pauses. “I know I’m not your favorite person in the world, so I really do appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome,” Mack replies with a dismissive wave. “Now how about you get out before I regret this even more.”

Rachel sighs and slides out of the car. After she hears the door shut, Mack looks over at Quinn, who looks far from happy with her. Mack huffs, but she gets out of the car and goes around to the trunk, where she finds Rachel struggling to carry all of her bags at once.

“You can make more than one trip, ya know?”

“Just trying to get out of your hair,” she says. She steps back with three suitcases in her grip, but her foot slips on the slick ice that covers the driveway and she falls backwards. She closes her eyes, fully expecting her head to hit the pavement, but it hits a soft chest instead. When she opens her eyes, she’s staring up at Mack’s face. “Thanks.”

“Yeah well, Quinn would probably hate me if I let you get concussed or something,” Mack says with a shrug as she helps Rachel to her feet. She takes two of the suitcases from Rachel and slings them over her shoulder before she starts towards the Hudson house. Rachel grabs her last two bags from the trunk and follows Mack inside, thinking about what she had said.

Finn greets her at the door, his arm through one coat sleeve and one boot on his foot. He bends down and places a kiss on her cheek before apologizing for not meeting her at the car. His face turns red when he explains that he had been in the bathroom. Mack snorts and his face turns an even darker shade of red. He takes two of the suitcases and tries to make a quick getaway to the bedroom. Once he’s out of sight, Rachel turns her attention on Mack, who is already opening the door to leave.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” To her surprise Mack stops, but not without groaning about it. “Sorry. I-I was just thinking about what you said earlier. By the car.” She swallows her nerves and takes a step closer to Mack. It takes an impressive amount willpower not to step back again when Mack crosses her arms over her chest and scowls. “I know you think I’m still some kind of threat to you and Quinn.” Mack snorts. Rachel chooses to ignore it. “But she cares about you. A lot.”

Mack stares at Rachel for a moment before she rolls her eyes. “Come on. Quinn will want to say bye or something, I’m sure.”

Rachel watches her leave, then sighs and follows her outside. She finds Quinn leaning against the side of the car. Instead of going to Quinn, The Mack goes to the driver’s side and gets in the car. Quinn pushes off the car and meets her halfway. Rachel shifts her weight from one foot to the other and peers around Quinn to look at The Mack in the car. At first glance, the other girl doesn’t seem to be paying attention, but then her gaze flickers up from the steering wheel and lands on Quinn and Rachel.

“She’s harmless, Rachel,” Quinn says with a smile. “Just don’t get too handsy when we hug or she’ll be pouty all night.”

“I can hardly imagine The Mack pouting.”

“If I stand out here any longer, you won’t have to imagine it,” Quinn says before wrapping Rachel in a hug. Rachel expects to hear the car door open, but when she doesn’t hear the sound, she returns the hug. A few seconds later, she steps back and there’s a wide smile on her face. She looks around Quinn again, but The Mack is still in the car, fiddling with the radio. “Like I said. Nothing to worry about,” Quinn says, her smile softening. “Enjoy your night, Rachel.”

Rachel watches her go back to the car, sees the way The Mack’s expression softens as soon as Quinn slides into the passenger seat. She looks at the ground and shakes her head before walking back to Finn’s house, smiling to herself. Maybe The Mack could be a pouter, but she has a feeling it would only happen around Quinn.

—– 

Later in the night, Rachel is curled up on the couch with Finn, her head resting on his chest while they catch up, talking about the last few weeks since her last visit. He’s playing with the tips of her hair as he talks about the miniscule amount of time he spent in the army when Rachel hears a familiar sound. She lift’s her head off his chest and shushes him. Seconds tick by and she hears nothing. Finn starts to speak again, but she places two fingers over his lips and cocks her head to the side. Several more seconds of silence pass, but then she hears them.

Duck calls.

Rachel groans and drops her forehead onto her boyfriend’s chest. She doesn’t know why The Mack insists on doing this to her, but she figures it might be time to tell her to stop. Duck calls don’t make the most romantic background music for spending time with a boyfriend.

“I’ll be right back,” she says before getting off the couch. She takes confident strides towards the door, but she stops just before she reaches it. She places her hand on the door handle, takes a deep breath, and reminds herself that she is Rachel Berry. More importantly, she is friends with Quinn, which means The Mack won’t beat her up. She hopes. She releases the breath and opens the door, but it isn’t The Mack standing on the porch.

“What are you two doing here?” She asks the giggling couple.

“What’s it look like, Berry? We’re Christmas caroling,” Santana says before blowing into the noise maker again.

“Nice jammies,” Brittany says. “I have some like that.”

Rachel blushes, remembering the light pink garments she’s wearing. She hadn’t been planning on seeing anyone else. Another reason to be happy that it isn’t The Mack standing outside the door.

“Thanks, Brittany,” Rachel says before turning to Santana, who looks almost sweet in her Santa hat. “Would you mind caroling somewhere else right now? Finn and I are… busy.”

Santana grimaces. “That’s kind of a mood killer,” she says as she slips the noise maker into her pocket. “Enjoy your night with the Jolly Giant,” she adds before she steps off the porch. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Rachel’s not quite sure what she’s supposed to do with Santana’s advice, but she waves goodbye to the two of them just the same. Brittany responds with another duck call and a smile. Rachel cringes and slowly shuts the door. She hopes The Mack gets over the duck call thing soon, or she’ll probably have a mild heart attack every time she hears a duck.

And she really hopes Brittany and Santana go caroling in a different neighborhood for the rest of the break.

Something tells her they won’t.


End file.
